Eye Pain Causes, Symptoms, Remedies

Eye pain is one of the common disorders of the eyes, ears, nose, and throat or EENT. Since pain is involved, it may affect a person’s vision, as well as his performance of his activities of daily living. Pain is also associated with infection or irritation, which may adversely affect a person’s vision permanently. The following are the causes, signs and symptoms, and home remedies for eye pain.

Causes

Eye pain is usually caused by medical conditions. According to Mayo Clinic, these include allergies, blepharitis or eyelid inflammation, blocked tear duct, chalazion or an eyelid cyst, cluster headache, contact lens problem, corneal abrasion, dry eyes related to decreased tear production, ectropion or outward turned eyelid, entropion or inward turned eyelid, foreign object in the eye, glaucom, burn, blunt trauma, iritis or inflammation of the iris or colored part of the eye, keratitis or inflammation of the cornea, optic neuritis or inflammation of the optic nerve, conjunctivitis or pink eye, scleritis or inflammation of the white part of the eye, sty, and uveitis or inflammation of the middle layer of the eye.

Signs and Symptoms

Eye pain may be accompanied by several symptoms. According to Web MD, these may include less vision, eye discharge, foreign body sensation, headache, light sensitivity, nausea, vomiting, red eye or pink eye, tearing, and discharge crusts upon waking up. As per the publication, a person should see his doctor if he has eye pain, particularly if symptoms like less vision, nausea, vomiting, and headache are present. These, along with various tools, will enable the doctor to diagnose the eye pain.

Home Remedies

While pain medications may be prescribed to control and relieve eye pain, home remedies can also be applied as supplemental treatment for the eye condition.

Eye Exercises

One remedy to relieve eye pain is to perform eye exercises. According to Top 10 Home Remedies, doing so alleviates eye strain by promoting blood flow in the eyes; this increases eye muscle flexibility, as well as focus and concentration. As per the publication, an exercise is to hold a pen and focus on it. Then, it is brought closer to the eyes until the focus becomes unclear. The person moves it again farther from his vision. The exercise is done for ten to 15 times.

Cold Application

Black eye and pink eye are two causes of eye pain and they can be managed with cold therapy. According to American Academy of Opthalmology, cold application reduces pain and swelling, so the person applied an ice pack to the eye for 15 to 20 minutes, once per hour. An alternative for ice pack is a bag of frozen goods or ice wrapped in cloth. Raw steak should not be put on the eye, since they may contain bacteria, which may induce or aggravate eye infection.

Eye Care

One should be able to execute proper eye care, as part of the remedies and prevention of eye pain. According to EMedicine Health, the eyes should not be rubbed if a foreign body is suspected in the eye. As per the publication, doing so can seriously damage the eye surface, since the act of rubbing moves the foreign body on the surface. Flushing the eye with water is the most common home care intervention, using either lukewarm tap water or a commercially prepared eyewash solution. Otherwise, medical attention is necessary.

Eye pain may adversely affect a person’s health status, including his daily activities. Thus, it is best to seek medical consult for prompt assessment, planning, intervention, education, and evaluation.